G20 Summit in Australia

[tbm3fan]

Reading today that the Australian Prime Minister is going to shirt-front Putin over the MH17 disaster. Shirt- front being a colloquial Aussie term. Of course the local Russian ambassador and Pravda weighed in on it. Pravda calling the Prime Minister "rude, insolent, insulting, impolite, impertinent, unpolished, gross, unpleasant and downright impudent."

I knew there was a reason I liked Aussies...

Tony Abbott vows to 'shirt-front' Vladimir Putin at G20 - CNN.com

[Bigfella]

I was waiting until I had some time to post about this. I don't have time now, but suffice to say this makes Abbott look like a clown, not a strong leader. He tried to sound strong & came out sounding like a dickhead. Full explanation this evening.

[Blademaster]

I was waiting until I had some time to post about this. I don't have time now, but suffice to say this makes Abbott look like a clown, not a strong leader. He tried to sound strong & came out sounding like a dickhead. Full explanation this evening.

Giving yourself enough time to wean off those meds?

[tbm3fan]

I was waiting until I had some time to post about this. I don't have time now, but suffice to say this makes Abbott look like a clown, not a strong leader. He tried to sound strong & came out sounding like a dickhead. Full explanation this evening.

Oh, I don't know about that. Guess it depends on your point of view. To me he is making a parody of Putin going shirtless in pics to show off his manliness. Something I might have seen on Saturday Night Live in the 70's. Aykroyd is Putin and Murray is Abbott. To me it is a great in your face joke towards Putin and obviously that is how the Russians see it based on their response.

[Fortesque]

I don't think Abbott, who is from New South Wales, knew what he was taking about as the term is from the AFL states (Vic, WA, SA ). It has nothing to do with wearing shirts apart from where you hit the other guy.

[Bigfella]

Oh, I don't know about that. Guess it depends on your point of view. To me he is making a parody of Putin going shirtless in pics to show off his manliness. Something I might have seen on Saturday Night Live in the 70's. Aykroyd is Putin and Murray is Abbott. To me it is a great in your face joke towards Putin and obviously that is how the Russians see it based on their response.

tbm3fan,

I think this is a case of cross cultural misunderstanding. he wasn't joking & he wasn't making reference to Vlad's penchant for toplessness. He was trying to sound tough & just made himself look stoopid. Unfortunately this will require a bit of background and a VERY scary picture. So, forgive me for the length of the post and if the kids are in the room get them out now. ;)

First the background. 'Shirtfront' is term specific to Australian Rules football. Fortesque has provided a fine example involving one Dermott Brereton, a great of my own beloved Hawthorn Football Club (who, just quietly, won back to back Grand Finals this year!). Dermott is the one on the receiving end of the 'shirtfront'. Don't worry about him. He once had his ribs broken in the first minute of a Grand Final & played out the game (we won). In other words, to 'shirtfront' someone is to violently run into them. The term has receded from use in the past 10 years as the game has become less physical, so not even Aussie rules fan use it much now.

In Australia, sport is somewhat segregated by geography. Abbott grew up in a Rugby League/Union area and played Rugby, not Aussie rules. I doubt he has ever laid a shirtfront or had one laid on him. He would have heard the term somewhere, but it isn't a term that would be normal for him to use. The closest comparison I can draw would be Obama using an old fashioned ice hockey term or David Cameron using a somewhat obscure Rugby League term. In other words, it would immediately look and sound strange and forced. It did.

Politically Abbott is leading a government that has set records for plunging popularity. Before the tragedy of MH17 and an the spectacle of ISIS gave him a welcome way to change the subject he was in danger of heading the first one term Federal Government since the Great Depression. He latches on to every opportunity to look 'tough' that he can.

This is also a part of his broader political persona. Since his university days, when he was a decent boxer, Abbott has had a reputation for 'physicality'. In those youthful days it took the form of physical threats to people he had political disagreements with. In one memorable example he punched a wall right next to the head of a female candidate who beat him in an election. He has stopped doing stuff like that, but the clip below shows that he still has anger management issues (you can skip the commentary at the end)

Further, Abbott is probably second only to Putin among world leaders in the 'getting your shirt off at the drop of a hat' stakes. He is very much Putin lite in that respect. We don't much go for shooting stuff & horse riding here, so swimming & bike riding are the approved 'show how masculine you are' format. I offer the following and a link to MUCH more (a wise man would take my word for it. Click on at your own peril). He is fond of very muscular 'masculine' physical imagery.





So, fair to say he wasn't making a joke about the shirtless thing.

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=t...mming&imgdii=_

In summary: it is pretty clear down here that Abbott was trying to posture before the G20. Having hinted a while back that he might stop Putin attending and found that to be practically impossible, he now wants to look 'tough'. Unfortunately his clumsiness with language took him from looking a bit silly to looking like...well....a dickhead. It is the word that has popped up most often this week in relation to this. This is being treated with a mixture of bemusement, astonishment, confusion (in Rugby playing areas) and resignation that the guy in charge is a clown. He doesn't look tough or clever. When questioned yesterday Abbott refused to use the term again, instead attempting to set a world record for using the phrase 'robust conversation' in one press conference. That looked forced too.

The only thing that has redeemed this for him is the predictably over the top response from Russian media organs like Pravda. Their somewhat hysterical tone has allowed stanchly pro-Abbott tabloids (owned by Rupert 'American as apple pie' Murdoch) to crank up the outrage and churn out the sort of 'TAKE THAT FRITZ' headlines that such papers were notorious for in the UK. One of them sent off an enraged letter to Pravda & published the English and Cyrillic text in the paper today.

Treat this as a bit of comic relief.

PS - sorry for the length, but I figured you might as well get the full context.

[Doktor]

Reading today that the Australian Prime Minister is going to shirt-front Putin over the MH17 disaster. Shirt- front being a colloquial Aussie term. Of course the local Russian ambassador and Pravda weighed in on it. Pravda calling the Prime Minister "rude, insolent, insulting, impolite, impertinent, unpolished, gross, unpleasant and downright impudent."

I knew there was a reason I liked Aussies...

It's all because of the accent ;)

Guess they'll also serve long blacks :red:

[tbm3fan]

Oh, Christ, Australian football is involved. I get lost right there. I remember sitting in a bar one evening, outside the former Clark Air Base, with a crowd of Aussies (friends) and a crowd of Brits (also friends) wearing their colored shirts. It is a long bar and the groups are at either ends throwing good-natured insults at each other in their native slang. It was funny as hell even though us three Yanks in the middle didn't understand a word of it. Just too complicated but it was a fun night.

Anyway, thanks Bigfella ;)

[Bigfella]

Oh, Christ, Australian football is involved. I get lost right there. I remember sitting in a bar one evening, outside the former Clark Air Base, with a crowd of Aussies (friends) and a crowd of Brits (also friends) wearing their colored shirts. It is a long bar and the groups are at either ends throwing good-natured insults at each other in their native slang. It was funny as hell even though us three Yanks in the middle didn't understand a word of it. Just too complicated but it was a fun night.

Anyway, thanks Bigfella ;)

Glad to help. :)

[Chunder]

It's all because of the accent ;)

Guess they'll also serve long blacks :red:

May I interest you in the term 'Budgie Smuggler' Dok?

[Albany Rifles]

We called them pud suits...

[Chunder]

No Cookies | The Advertiser

63/27 Is the split.

[Doktor]

May I interest you in the term 'Budgie Smuggler' Dok?

At your own risk :slap:

[Mopind]

Hey everyone,

Just reviving the thread here a little bit. I'm just wondering what you all think of the Russian ships that are in international borders off the coast of Australia, and the rationale to do so?

I can't really come up with anything excepting creating a more intimidating stature for Putin, but wonder whether there are other political intentions behind it.

[Stitch]

May I interest you in the term 'Budgie Smuggler' Dok?

I'm not sure what that means, but it sounds invasive . . . does it involve dressing up like Little Bo Peep?